


Surveillance

by noplacespecial



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 12:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1031502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noplacespecial/pseuds/noplacespecial
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It pretty much goes without saying that a former sheriff would be less  than thrilled to see his daughter associating with the local criminal  element.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surveillance

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://jenedorspas.livejournal.com/profile)[**jenedorspas**](http://jenedorspas.livejournal.com/). [](http://vm-santa.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://vm-santa.livejournal.com/)**vm_santa**. You know the drill. I've wanted to do this story for ages, I'm so happy I finally finished it; I find outside perspectives on relationships endlessly fascinating, and I love Weevil and Veronica through Keith's eyes in particular.

It pretty much goes without saying that a former sheriff would be less than thrilled to see his daughter associating with the local criminal element. But Keith stops short of full-on panic, because he learned long ago that if he let his worry reach the appropriate level for every incident involving Veronica he would likely have a heart attack. So befriending the leader of a motorcycle gang? Yeah, that's going to rate a lecture and some stress eating, but at the end of the day he (mostly) trusts her to do the right thing

Still. There will be some definite stress eating going on.

He remembers the first time he arrested Weevil. Back before he got that ridiculous nickname, he was just Eli Navarro - a gangly kid with large dark eyes and a mop of unruly curls. At age twelve he'd been given a leather jacket, a hand-me-down from one of the older boys that hung off of his scrawny frame. There had been three other boys with him the night they'd broken into the Enbom mansion; or, more accurately, _attempted_ to break into the Enbom mansion. They hadn't made it much further than cracking open a basement window when the alarm sounded. He and Lamb found them crouched behind the neighbor's shed, shivering with fright.

Chardo was the clear leader of the operation, puffed up with bravado and doing his best to tough-talk his way out of the backseat of the squad car. Felix and Humberto remained silent. And Eli, huddled against the window, burrowed further into his oversized jacket and studiously avoided anyone's eyes. Once they got back to the station, they had split the boys up; Eli cracked first. Sitting across the cold metal table, the handcuffs looking massive and foreign around his small young wrists, he had broken down in tears and admitted that the caper had been to prove their worth to the PCH bike gang; if they could steal at least $500 each, they would be considered for membership. They let him go with a warning for cooperating; Chardo, meanwhile, got three weeks in juvie for assaulting a police officer (kicking Lamb in the shin).

A week later Keith sees him outside the middle school when he's picking Veronica up; Eli's left eye is bruised and the word "SNITCH" is still faintly visible across his forehead from the permanent marker that hasn't quite washed off yet.

He's Weevil now; leader of the pack, tattooed tough guy, and a criminal all on his own. But sometimes Keith looks at him and still sees the scared kid sitting across the interrogation room table.

The first time he shows up at the house, Keith will admit that he has momentary flashbacks to that conference presentation about criminals coming back to seek revenge over their arresting officer. But then Veronica comes rushing out of her room, announcing that they've got a study date, and Keith sees the bookbag slung across Weevil's shoulder.

He makes sure to keep them out in the living room, easily visible to his watchful eye.

~*~

He secretly prays that it's just a one-time thing.

It's not.

Weevil's name starts coming up more and more in conversation. Veronica starts hanging out with other PCH'ers, comes roaring down the driveway one afternoon on the back of Weevil's bike. He's pretty sure this is the point where any normal parent should be locking her in her room or shipping her off to boarding school. But Veronica's not a normal kid; she'd probably find a way to pick the lock anyway, and the thought of her wreaking havoc on a fresh blend of unsuspecting victims is out of the question. So he resorts to watching them, carefully. Weevil gets the eagle-eye and a glare every time he crosses the threshold into the Mars home, but despite Keith's persistent surveillance he can never seem to find any reason to distrust the boy. Oh, he knows he still vandalizes things, steals cars, but that's police business, and as he's constantly reminded, Keith Mars no longer works for law enforcement. He's specifically concerned about Veronica. But Weevil is nothing if not polite, considerate, and attentive. In fact, the more he watches, the more he's convinced that the biker actually seems to have a crush on his daughter.

He considers planting a bug in her bedroom. Ultimately he doesn't, but only because he can't find a good enough hiding spot.

~*~

His theory is confirmed the day that Weevil stays for dinner. It's not planned, but he's helping Veronica on a case that has something to do with the gym teacher - Keith isn't sure of the details, all he knows is that it involves papers and files spread across the entire living room. They're there when he gets home from the office at 4:30, and still going strong when he starts thinking about heating up some leftovers around 7:00, so it seems only natural to invite the kid to join them.

They eat gathered around the island, Keith standing on one side, Weevil and Veronica seated side-by-side in the stools across from him. Weevil mumbles his appreciation, at obvious discomfort. But every few seconds he and Veronica are sharing a look, laughing at some inside joke, discussing the case, and Keith feels like an outsider observing his daughter's life. She's showing clear signs of being interested in someone, and he realizes to his dismay that someone is Weevil. And Weevil, for his part, is interested back; it's obvious in the sidelong glances he keeps giving her, the way he clears her dishes for her, the way his gaze sweeps up and down her figure when he thinks neither of them are looking.

It's been a long day, and Keith is dead tired. But he downs a mug of coffee and forces himself to stay up until 11:45, when Weevil finally leaves. He glares as the two of them smile at each other.

Yeah, he'll take his chances with that bug.

~*~

It's awhile before Weevil comes back to the house; he still hears about him, about the way he tagged someone's car for her, or how he helped Wallace when he almost got caught smuggling files out of the office. Then Veronica picks up a new case, one that has her doing heavy surveillance, and Keith rests easy. Because time spent sitting in her car in front of the Camelot means less time spent with Weevil and less time spent in her room where she could potentially stumble across the bug he has sandwiched between some of her old, unused textbooks.

Until, however, he learns that Weevil is helping out with this case as well.

He supposes that, in a way, he should be glad; knowing that Weevil has a crush on Veronica means that he's not going to let anything happen to her. And while Keith loves Backup dearly, he's pretty sure that the leader of a motorcycle gang, with biceps larger than his own thigh, is better protection should something happen. But he can't ignore the fatherly panic that rises at the thought of his daughter in a car with a boy, any boy, long stretches of time and an empty backseat. Hell, she may not know this but she was _conceived_ in the backseat of a car, he knows how things work. Veronica may be strong, she may be independent, she may be unlike a lot of girls her age, but Keith has seen her through the rise and fall of Duncan Kane, that Troy kid, Deputy Leo - he knows that while she may put on a brave face to the rest of the world about not needing anyone, ever, she still wants to be loved just as much as anyone else. And he knows Weevil's reputation, the kind of girls he usually hangs out with. Even just the potential of him taking advantage of his little girl...no. It's just not going to happen. Not on his watch.

~*~

He isn't aware of the next time Weevil comes to the house until the pair of them emerge from behind Veronica's closed bedroom door. She blinks, seeing him sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Dad - didn't realize you'd be home so early," she says. There are no traces of guilt on her face, but Keith fixes Weevil with a glare nonetheless.

"It's a school night," he points out unnecessarily. "Weevil, shouldn't you be heading home?" Veronica furrows her brow in surprise, but her companion is quick to agree.

"Sorry Mr. Mars," he says. "I'll catch you later, V." And slumps out the door, without having to be asked twice. Veronica regards her father with a superior smirk, having finally figured out what's going on. When she's certain that Weevil is out of earshot, she pounces.

"Dad, are you trying to protect me from Weevil?" she asks, amused. Keith's glare remains firmly affixed.

"Do I need to protect you from him?" he retorts. His daughter only laughs, kisses him on the cheek, and heads back into her bedroom.

He accesses the bug's frequency from his laptop with headphones plugged in, and reviews Veronica's conversation with Weevil while behind closed doors. He hears mostly shop talk, discussion of a teacher that has been accused of selling drugs to students. But the more he listens, the more he catches the innuendo, the flirting, laced smoothly into the conversation. It's effortless and easy, in a way that he never quite imagined them to be. Some of the comments are subtle, some blatantly sexual, and he turns red just hearing some of the stuff that the two of them seem to casually toss back and forth. Sure, he knows that flirting for kids today is at a much different level than it was when he was a kid, but that hardly helps; the last thing he wants to think about is Veronica being involved with a boy in any way other than holding hands and making googly eyes. And something tells him that Weevil Navarro is not exactly the googly-eyes type.

~*~

Spring melts into summer and Weevil is still a constant presence in Veronica's life. Though they occasionally bicker, get in disagreements over methodology, she rarely has anything seriously negative to say about him. Keith remains suspicious.

On a Sunday afternoon, while he's doing paperwork and Veronica is reading out by the pool, the doorbell rings. He answers without thinking; he's not sure who he's expecting, but Weevil is definitely not on that list. He resists the urge to sigh in exasperation.

"Veronica asked me to bring her this," Weevil mumbles, displaying a thick manila envelope. He's still uncomfortable around him, a fact Keith revels in.

"She's out back," he says, stepping aside to let Weevil in. The teenager nods and stalks through to the back door to deliver the envelope. And _wow_ , is he off his game today, because the pool is empty and Veronica is wearing a bathing suit. He mentally curses himself, then dashes to the back window and peeks through the curtains.

Sure enough, the pool is still empty save Veronica. When she sees Weevil coming, her lips curve into a smile. Her eyes are hidden by her sunglasses, and Weevil is shifting uncomfortably beneath his heavy jacket in the blistering heat; it's very clear who's in control here. There's a slight breeze, blowing in a highly convenient direction for Keith's activities because he'd really hate to have to run to the office to get his audio amplifier. Through the open kitchen window, he can discern clearly when his daughter greets her friend with:

"Did you get it?" Though Keith can only see the back of Weevil's head, he's sure he's rolling his eyes.

"Would I be here if I didn't?" the boy demands. Veronica only arches a brow and holds out her hand expectantly. He drops the package into it, and she rifles through its contents. Satisfied, she nods.

"Thanks for this," she says. "You saved me and Wallace a lot of legwork." Weevil shrugs.

"Yeah, no problem." He looks down as he says this, his hand coming up to scrub the back of his neck; he's nervous, Keith discerns. Veronica shifts in her lounge chair.

"Are you just gonna stand there?" she asks. Weevil shrugs again.

"Don't need me for anything else, do you?"

"No. But I was hoping you'd at least hang out for a little while." Weevil mumbles something that Keith has trouble understanding. He strains forward.

"Right now?" he wants to know. Veronica smirks.

"Why not?" She uncrosses and re-crosses her legs. Weevil appears to take full notice.

"That's just not playing fair, Mars."

"You could come take a swim with me," she suggests. "Guys aren't the only one that like the eye candy."

"Yeah, let me go get the bathing suit I carry with me at all times." Veronica laughs as she sits up and starts rummaging through her bag.

"And here I was hoping for a Speedo," she says teasingly. She retrieves a bottle of sunscreen and dangles it from her fingers. "Want to help do my back?" she asks. Weevil glances behind him, looking directly towards the Mars apartment. Keith quickly ducks. It's while he's studying the tile floor of his own kitchen that he fully acknowledges how ridiculous he's being. But at the same time, he can't seem to make himself stop watching. For all the time that Veronica spent with a supposedly badass biker, it's endlessly entertaining to see that despite his fears about Weevil taking advantage of her, it's clear that she's got him eating out of the palm of her hand. He's oddly proud.

When he peers back out the curtains, Weevil is perched gingerly on the edge of Veronica's chaise, his hands slick with sunscreen and gliding across her back. From this new position Keith can now see part of the boy's face, and the look of awe is something that comes as a bit of a shock. He has accepted that Weevil is attracted to Veronica; completely subjectively, he happens to think that any boy that's not is an idiot. But the thought that this toughened criminal could actually have feelings for her beyond the physical...that's new. And highly unexpected.

"You almost done back there?" Veronica asks. Weevil jumps back as if he's been burned, sending the bottle of sunscreen clattering to the ground in the process. Veronica stretches out on her stomach and rests her cheek against her arm, regarding him. The wind changes direction, and Keith can't make out much more than a mumble, with raised eyebrows. He doesn't catch Weevil's response either, but he does hear:

"Eyes up here, buddy."

The next exchange gets lost as well, and Keith's seriously considering going after that audio amplifier, when Weevil does an about-face and starts heading straight for the apartment. He dashes into the living room, grabs a magazine from the coffee table, and hastily rearranges himself into the picture of nonchalance on the couch. But Weevil doesn't even look his way, just stomps out the front door with a perturbed look on his face. Keith hears the engine of his bike start up, then fade into the distance. A few moments later, Veronica comes waltzing back in the house, grinning.

"Did you run that boy off already?" he teases. His daughter's grin widens.

"Can't help it if he's an easy mark," she retorts breezily. Keith shakes his head as she retreats to her room. Maybe Weevil's the one he should have been worried about all along.


End file.
